Panasonic will suffer 59% profit hit

Panasonic expects to see a 59 per cent drop in profits this year as a direct result of the March earthquake and tsunami. Net income, says Panasonic’s guidance, will probably drop to Yen 30 billion ($374m) in the upcoming year to March 2012.

There has been a small upside to the catastrophe in that Japan’s domestic consumers are looking for energy-efficient devices.

Panasonic is not alone in anticipating a fall in profits. Much the same guidance has come from Japan’s other electronics firms, as well as its automotive sector. Supply chain issue are likely to remain a problem until this autumn, says Panasonic.

Profit at the main audio-visual products unit, which includes TVs and cameras, will probably rise to 121 billionYyen during the 12 months, from 114.9 billion Yen a year earlier, the company said. Income at the appliance unit may gain to 104 billion Yen from 92.3 billion Yen, it said.